System of management, information providing and information acquisition for vending machine based upon wire and wireless communication and a method of management, information providing and information acquisition for vending machine

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a system for managing a vending machine using wire and wireless two-way communication, and providing and acquiring various intangible knowledge information items, and a method of managing a vending machine, and providing and acquiring intangible knowledge information using the system.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a system for managing a vending machineusing wire and wireless two-way communication, and providing andacquiring intangible knowledge information, such as product information,public service information and living information, using the vendingmachine, and to a method of managing a vending machine, and providingand acquiring intangible knowledge information using the system.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, vending machines (automatic vending machines or self-servicestands) provide users with tangible articles or intangible knowledgeinformation when the users pay for the articles or the knowledgeinformation. Such a vending machine can provide only the articles or theknowledge information supplied by an installer, but cannot immediatelyrespond to articles or knowledge information that users want to acquire.

In order to solve this problem, Korean Patent Application No.10-2003-0036792 (Registration No. 10-0503854) has been filed. However,according to this patent application, the vending machine can acquireonly information and bonuses, such as coupons, provided by aninformation provider, but cannot meet demands of users who want toacquire information. In addition, the patent application has a problemin that it is difficult to manage the vending machine in real time.

Further, in order to effectively manage the vending machine andcollected data, an administrator should check a variation in data inreal time, analyze the data, and upload or download knowledgeinformation. However, there are limitations in meeting the demands ofusers in real time even when the number of data administratorsincreases. In particular, when the number of vending machines or theamount of information increases, it is difficult to manage the vendingmachine or the information in real time.

Further, since a main server controls and manages these vending machinesaccording to the related art, information and data are concentrated onone place. Therefore, when signals from the vending machines areconcentrated, traffic is concentrated, and a data line or a server isoverloaded, which makes it difficult to smoothly perform communicationand control.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

The invention is designed to solve the above-mentioned problems of thevending machine according to the related art, and an object of theinvention is to provide a technique for analyzing articles or knowledgeinformation used in a vending machine to provide articles or knowledgeinformation that are frequently used, automaticallyanalyzing/determining the arrangement/rearrangement of articles andknowledge information and the rearrangement of vending machines using anartificial intelligence algorithm, without the intervention of anadministrator, to optimize the arrangement of articles, knowledgeinformation, and vending machines, thereby providing articles andknowledge information necessary for vending machine users, giving atangible or intangible reward to a user who purchases articles orknowledge information or reads the knowledge information, and enablingthe user to use the reward to acquire a necessary article or knowledgeinformation.

Technical Solution

According to an aspect of the invention, in order to achieve the object,a system includes: a plurality of vending machines that provide articlesor knowledge information; a plurality of local servers that group thevending machines and manage the groups of the vending machines; a mainserver that controls the local servers; and a wire and wirelesscommunication network that connects the vending machines, the localservers, and the main server.

The system may further include: a mobile communication apparatus thatcan transmit or receive voice or data by wire or wirelessly; a humandetection sensor that includes an optical sensor using an infrared rayor a laser beam, and a radio wave sensor, and can count the number ofpersons passing by the vending machine; or an image recognizing unitthat can count the number of persons gathered in front of the vendingmachine for a predetermined time.

The vending machine has the same structure as that of a general vendingmachine (an automatic vending machine or a self-service stand) that isprovided with a power supply, has articles loaded therein, and candischarge the articles to the outside. The vending machine may include:a cooling and heating device that cools or heats the articles loadedtherein; a display device that visually displays the knowledgeinformation or outputs it as a sound, and has an input unit, such as atouch screen, provided therein or an external input device addedthereto; a selection input unit that selects the articles or theknowledge information; a payment unit that includes a slot into which acoin or paper money for articles is inserted, a reader that can readmagnetic cards or IC cards, and an optical recognition unit that is usedto pay for articles using the mobile communication apparatus or a mobilecommunication payment unit that communicates with an externalcommunication unit to perform a payment process for articles; adischarge unit that discharges an article or a print out of theknowledge information; an external communication unit that is connectedto the wire and wireless communication network; a memory device storinginstructions, signal, and data that are input to or output from all thecomponents of the vending machine or the outside; and a controller (CPU)that controls all the components of the vending machine.

The human detection sensor is a sensor that checks the number of personspassing by the vending machine according to date and time knowledgeinformation, thereby collecting personal statistics, and uses thecollected data to determine the kind of knowledge information and thetime when the knowledge information is provided. For example, an opticalsensor using an infrared ray or a laser beam or a radio wave sensorusing radio waves may be used as the human direction sensor.

The image recognizing unit includes a camera that captures an image andimage recognizing software that analyzes the captured image. Whenknowledge information is output from the display device, the imagerecognizing unit counts the number of persons who view the knowledgeinformation for a predetermined time.

Each of the local servers and the main server is a general server, andincludes a database (DB), a database management system DBMS, a harddisk, a storage unit, such as a RAM or a ROM; a CPU; and an I/Ointerface.

The local server and the main server store information on the vendingmachines and data for the knowledge information. A plurality of localservers are provided, and each local server is connected to a group ofvending machines that are classified according to area orcharacteristics of articles or knowledge information provided, among thevending machines, by wire or wirelessly, to manage or control the groupof vending machines. The local servers are connected to the main serverby wire or wirelessly, and managed and controlled by the main server. Inthis way, it is possible to reduce the load of the main server andmanage and control groups of vending machines according tocharacteristics of the groups. The main server may be connected to anexternal server that provides external specific knowledge information,thereby sharing information.

The wire and wireless communication network means a wire and wirelesscommunication network, such as a telephone network, a local area network(LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a value added network (VAN), adedicated line network, a power line communication (PLC) network, asatellite network, a wireless LAN, an commercial wireless communicationnetwork, or a personal wireless communication network, and includes thecurrent commercial communication networks and wire and wirelesscommunication networks that will be developed in the near future.

RFID tags, bar codes, color codes, or printed matters having numbersprinted thereon that can be recognized by the mobile communicationapparatus may be attached to the articles used in the vending machines.

Meanwhile, examples of the mobile communication apparatus includeportable communication apparatuses, such as mobile phones, PDAs, PMPs(portable multimedia players), and computers that can communicate. Forexample, apparatuses that enable users to manually input numbers printedon articles and include a camera or an electronic reader (for example,an RFID reader) capable of electronically or optically recognizing RFIDtags, bar codes or color codes may be used as the mobile communicationapparatus.

Next, a method of providing intangible knowledge information, a methodof acquiring intangible knowledge information, and a method of managinga vending machine using the system will be described.

The method of managing the vending machine manages articles that areload in or discharged from the vending machine and knowledge informationthat is stored in the vending machine or transmitted from the server andthen output through the display device to determine the utility of thevending machine. That is, the method manages the sales of articles andknowledge information, stocks, and the determination of suitableinformation.

In the method of providing intangible knowledge information, theknowledge information means commercial or public text or multimediainformation that is provided by an information provider in order toadvertise or publicize his or her articles or businesses, and isprovided to all the vending machine users regardless of the will of theusers. The method of providing intangible knowledge information gives areward to a person who reads the information.

In the method of acquiring intangible knowledge information, a personwho wants to acquire information (referred to as an information acquirerin the invention) pays for desired information to acquire theinformation.

First, the method of managing a vending machine includes: a datacollecting step of allowing each local server to collect data stored inthe memories of the vending machines that are managed by the localserver, the data including data for the positions of the vendingmachines, article information data, such as the kind and number ofarticles loaded in or discharged from the vending machines, date andtime when the articles are loaded in or discharged from the vendingmachines, and knowledge information data, such as the kind of knowledgeinformation items stored in or output from the vending machines, thenumber of hits of the knowledge information, and date and time when theknowledge information items are stored in or output from the vendingmachines; a data transmitting step of allowing the local server totransmit the collected data to the main server; a data classifying stepof allowing the main server to classify the received data according toarea, kind, date, time, the number of articles, and the number of hitsof knowledge information; a data analyzing step of allowing the mainserver to analyze the classified data; a rearrangement determining stepof allowing the main server to determine articles and knowledgeinformation to be added or removed, that is, articles and knowledgeinformation to be rearranged, on the basis of the analyzed data, using adetermining algorithm; a similar article and knowledge informationdetermining step of allowing the main server to determine articles andknowledge information to be added and similar articles and knowledgeinformation, using an index table; a rearrangement executing step ofallowing the main server to add or delete data that the main server willexecute, among the data to be added or deleted and a rearrangement datatransmitting step of allowing the main server to transmit data includingrearrangement commands to each of the local servers; a rearranging stepof allowing each of the local servers having received the rearrangementcommands to add or remove articles or knowledge information according tothe instructions from the main server; and a data updating step ofallowing the main server and the local servers to update data on thebasis of the executed data.

In addition, the rearrangement determining step, the similar article andknowledge information determining step, the rearrangement executing stepand the rearrangement data transmitting step, and the rearranging stepmay further include a vending machine adding or removing step of addingor removing vending machines in a specific area.

In the data analyzing step, the utilization of each kind of article, thefrequency of use thereof, a variation in the utilization, and the movingaverage of the utilization are analyzed.

The preference of each kind of article in each vending machine, avariation in the preference, and the moving average of the preferenceare analyzed.

The utilization of each vending machine, the frequency of use thereof, avariation in the utilization, and the moving average of the utilizationare analyzed.

In the analysis of data, the utilization of a specific article can beanalyzed by math figure 1 given below:

the utilization of Pi(%)={the number of uses of Pi÷Σ(the number of usesof Pn)}×100  [Math Figure 1]

(where ‘Pi’ indicates an i-th product, and ‘Σ(Pn)’ indicates the totalnumber of products loaded in a specific vending machine).

The frequency of use of each kind of article is calculated by mathfigure 2 given below:

the frequency of use of Pi(%)=(the number of uses of Pi at Tn÷the totalnumber of uses of Pi until Tn)×100  [Math Figure 2]

(where ‘Pi’ indicates an i-th product, and ‘Tn’ indicates n o′clock).

The variation in the utilization of each kind of article is calculatedby math FIG. 3 given below:

variation in the utilization of Pi(%)={(the number of uses of Pitoday−the number of uses of Pi on the previous day)÷the total number ofuses of Pi per unit time}×100  [Math Figure 3]

The moving average of the utilization of each kind of article iscalculated by math figure 4 given below:

the moving average of the utilization of Pi(%)={(the number of uses ofPi from N o′clock to M o′clock)÷(Tn+m−Tn)}×100  [Math Figure 4]

(where ‘Tn+m’ indicates n+m o′clock, and ‘Tn’ indicates n o′clock).

The preference of each kind of article in each vending machine iscalculated by math figure 5 given below:

the preference of P(%)=[Σ(the number of uses of Pn)÷{Σ(the number ofuses of Pn)+Σ(the number of uses of Rn)+σ(the number of uses ofMn)+Σ(the number of uses of In)}]×100  [Math Figure 5]

(where P indicates all the articles loaded in the vending machine, n=1,2, 3, . . . , m, and R, M, and I indicate knowledge information orarticles other than ‘P’).

A variation in the preference of each kind of article in each vendingmachine is calculated by math figure 6 given below:

variation in the preference of P(%)={(the preference of P today−thepreference of P on the previous day)÷the total number of uses of P perunit time}×100  [Math Figure 6]

The moving average of the preference of each kind of article in eachvending machine is calculated by math figure 7 given below:

the moving average of the preference of P(%)={(the preference of P fromN o′clock to M o′clock)÷(Tn+m−Tn)}×100  [Math Figure 7]

The utilization of each vending machine is calculated by math figure 8given below:

the utilization of a vending machine ‘a’(%)=(the number of persons usingthe vending machine ‘a’ per day÷the average number of persons using thevending machines belonging to a group ‘A’)×100  [Math Figure 8]

(where the average number of persons using the vending machinesbelonging to a group ‘A’=the total number of persons using the vendingmachines belonging to the group ‘A’÷the total number of vending machinesbelonging to the group ‘A’, and the vending machine ‘a’ is one of thevending machines belonging to the group ‘A’).

The frequency of use of each vending machine is calculated by mathfigure 9 given below:

the frequency of use of the vending machine ‘a’(%)=(the number ofpersons using the vending machine ‘a’ at Tn÷the total number of personsusing the vending machined ‘a’ until Tn)×100.  [Math Figure 9]

A variation in the utilization of each vending machine is calculated bymath FIG. 10 given below:

variation in the utilization of the vending machine ‘a’={(the number ofpersons using the vending machine ‘a’ on a specific day−the number ofpersons using the vending machine ‘a’ the day before)÷the total numberof persons using the vending machine ‘a’ per unit time}×100  [MathFigure 10]

The moving average of the utilization of each vending machine iscalculated by math figure 11 given below:

the moving average of the utilization of the vending machine‘a’(%)={(the number of persons using the vending machine ‘a’ from No′clock to M o′clock)÷(Tn+m−Tn)}×100  [Math Figure 11]

In the rearrangement determining step, a fuzzy function is used asdetermining function used for a determining algorithm that determines toadd or remove articles and knowledge information. That is, the fuzzyfunction is applied using the utilization, the frequency of use, and thevariation in the utilization as input variables, and it is determinedwhether to add or remove articles and knowledge information on the basisof the result value.

In this case, a triangle or discrete variable is used in a membershipfunction.

The triangle variable is represented by math figure 12 given below:

A(x)=1 /{a(|x _(−b) |+a)}, a>0  [Math Figure 12]

(where ‘a’ indicates a fuzzy number, and ‘b’ indicates the value of xwhere the grade of the membership function is 1).

In math figure 12, the utilization is applied to an input value ‘x1’,the frequency of use is applied to an input value ‘x2’, and thevariation in the utilization is applied to an input value ‘x3’.

A fuzzy rule is defined by math figure 13 given below:

If x₁ is A_(i1), x₂ is A_(i2), x₃ is A_(i3) then y is B_(i)  [MathFigure 13]

A fuzzy rule number is calculated by math figure 14 given below:

R=U_(i=1) ^(n)XR_(i)  [Math Figure 14]

The fuzzy rule represented by math figure 13 is applied to all inputvalues to obtain output values.

An output function is obtained by math figure 15 given below:

B^(o)=U_(i=1) ^(n)B_(i) ^(x)  [Math Figure 15]

In this case, B_(i) ^(x) is calculated by math figure 16 given below:

B _(i) ^(x)(y)=w _(i) ΛB _(i)(y)  [Math Figure 16]

(where w_(i) indicates a cutting level).

In math figure 16, n inference results are the sum of inference results.

The results are calculated by the center of gravity.

The rearrangement of articles and knowledge information is determined inconsideration of the calculated result values and the average value ofthe utilization.

The fuzzy function can be easily used with reference to the followingdocuments. (1. L. A. Zadeh “Fuzzy Algorithms, Information and Control”,Vol. 12, 94/102 (1968), 2. E. H. Mandani, “Application of fuzzyalgorithm for control for simple dynamic plant”, Proc, IEEE, Vol. 12,No. 12, 1585/1588 (1974), 3. M. Park, et al., “Fuzzy control system”,Daeyoungsa (1990), and 4. S. Chae, et al., “Fuzzy theory and control”,Cheong Moon Book Co. (1995)).

Meanwhile, the rearrangement of the vending machines, such as theaddition or removal of the vending machines, is performed using the samefuzzy function as that used in the rearrangement of the articles or theknowledge information.

In this case, as input values of the fuzzy function represented by mathfigure 12, ‘x1’ indicates the utilization of each vending machine, ‘x2’indicates the frequency of use of each vending machine, and ‘x3’indicates a variation in the utilization of each vending machine.

A triangle function or a discrete fuzzy variable is used as the fuzzyfunction, and the center of gravity is used to calculate the results ofthe function.

In the similar article and knowledge information determining step, inorder to select similar article or knowledge information, the articlesor the knowledge information items may be classified and indexed, andthe indexed data may be used to calculate similarity.

That is, the articles or the knowledge information items are classifiedaccording to attributes, such as sex (a male or a female), age (anold-old age, a young-old age, a middle age, a young age, a children, anda baby), the degree of harmfulness to health, taste (salty, sweet, hot,and sour), and the purpose of advertisement (a public advertisement or acommercial advertisement), product type (food or industrial products),and index numbers are assigned to the fields corresponding to theattribute. In addition, points indicating the level of each of theattributes may be written in each field, thereby establishing adatabase.

The articles may be classified according to the attributes as follows:

“Ca(article index, sex, age, the degree of health, taste, purpose, andproduct type)”.

This indicates the attributes of an ‘a’-th article in product ‘C’written in the fields, which can be represented by the following numbersin the database:

“C5(1-5, 1, 4, 6, 2, 2, 1)”.

Specifically, ‘C5’ indicates a fifth article in the product ‘C’, ‘1-5’indicates the index of the article, ‘1’ in the sex field indicates amale, ‘4’ in the age field indicates a children, ‘6’ in the healthdegree field indicates ‘good for health’, ‘2’ in the taste fieldindicates ‘sweet’, ‘2’ in the purpose field indicates ‘commercialadvertisement’ and ‘1’ in the product type field indicates ‘food’.

These fields and attributes may be further classified in more detail.

The similarity is calculated on the basis of the database by math figure17 given below:

$\begin{matrix}{C_{a - b} = \sqrt{\begin{matrix}{( {x_{a\; 1} - x_{b\; 1}} )^{2} + ( {x_{a\; 2} - x_{b\; 2}} )^{2} +} \\{( {x_{a\; 3} - x_{b\; 3}} )^{2} + \ldots + ( {x_{{an}\;} - x_{bn}} )^{2}}\end{matrix}}} & \lbrack {{Math}\mspace{14mu} {Figure}\mspace{14mu} 17} \rbrack\end{matrix}$

(where ‘C_(a-b)’ indicates the similarity between an a-th article and ab-th article in the product C in the highest category, ‘Xa1’ indicatesthe value of a first item of the a-th article in the product C, and‘Xb1’ indicates the value of a first item of the b-th article in theproduct C). As the result of the calculation, it is determined that thesmaller the calculated value is, the higher the similarity becomes, andthe larger the calculated value is, the lower the similarity becomes.

In the above-mentioned math figures, only the article, that is, an i-tharticle ‘Pi’ is represented by numerical values. However, each kind ofknowledge information, such as questions or advertisements other thanthe articles provided by the vending machine, may be represented bynumerical values. For example, an i-th advertisement may be representedby ‘Mi’.

Next, the method of providing intangible knowledge information will bedescribed.

The method includes: a basic data collecting step of allowing the mainserver to collect data for intangible knowledge information stored inthe memories of the main server, the external server, each local server,and each vending machine; a scheduling step of allowing the main serverto schedule the basic data and to allocate the kind of data to beexecuted by each vending machine, the time when the vending machineexecutes the basic data, and the number of times the vending machineexecutes the basic data, according to the schedule; a first data orcommand transmitting step of allowing the main server to transmit, toeach local server, data for knowledge information that is allocated toeach of the vending machines according to the schedule such that it isdisplayed on the display device of each of the vending machines, amongthe data stored in the main sever, allowing the main server to transmit,to each local server, commands to transmit data stored in the localserver to each vending machine, or allowing the main server to transmit,to each local server, commands to execute data stored in each vendingmachine; a second command and data transmitting step of allowing eachlocal server having received the data or commands to transmit, to thevending machines that are managed by the local server, data receivedfrom the main server, data stored therein, or commands to execute datastored in the vending machines; a data or command executing step ofallowing each vending machine having received the data or command in thesecond data and command transmitting step to execute the received dataor perform the received command on knowledge information data storedtherein; an information displaying/outputting step of allowing thedisplay device of each vending machine to visually display the knowledgeinformation or output it as a sound according to the received data orcommands; a result data collecting step of allowing the main server tocollect the result data of the displayed information in real time or atpredetermined time intervals; a data classifying step of allowing themain server to classify the collected result data, according to area,kind, date, time, the number of articles, and the number of hits; a dataanalyzing step of allowing the main server to analyze the classifieddata; and a result arranging step of allowing the main server to changethe schedule according to the analyzed data, reselect data to beexecuted among the basic data according the changed schedule, andarrange the data.

The method may further include a traffic calculating step of allowingeach vending machine to count the number of persons passing by thevending machine, using the human detection sensor, after the informationdisplaying/outputting step. In this case, it is possible to use thenumber of persons passing by the vending machine for each date and timeas data added to the result data obtained in the result data collectingstep, thereby selecting the kind of schedule and data.

The method may further include an information recognition state checkingstep of allowing each vending machine to count the number of persons whoview information displayed, using an image recognizing unit thereof,after the information displaying/outputting step. In this case, it ischecked whether the persons actually recognize the information and howmuch the persons recognize the information on the basis of the number ofpersons who view the information displayed on the vending machine, andthe utility of the information is verified on the basis of the checkresult. Then, data for the utility is used as data added to the resultdata obtained in the result data collecting step. In this way, it ispossible to select the kind of schedule and data.

The basic data collecting step collects data that is stored in thememories of the main server, the external server, each local server, andeach vending machine, and is scheduled to be executed. For example, thebasic data collecting step collects knowledge information data scheduledto be executed, such as commercial or public service ads, weatherinformation, product information, and official announcement of a villageor a local community in which the vending machines are installed, whichwill be displayed on the vending machines.

The scheduling step schedules the knowledge information that will beexecuted and displayed on each vending machine. Specifically, thescheduling step schedules knowledge information to be displayed on thevending machines according to area and time, and changes or adds theschedule.

The first and second data or command transmitting steps transmit data toeach vending machine such that data stored in the main server, theexternal server or each local server can be executed in the vendingmachine in a streaming method, or transmit commands such that datastored in the vending machines can be directly executed.

The information displaying/outputting step controls the display deviceto display or output the transmitted data or data executed by thetransmitted commands as an image (for example, a picture or a movingpicture) or a sound (audio) such that persons who pass by each vendingmachine view or listen to the image or the sound.

The result data collecting step collects the results of the datadisplayed or output by each vending machine, such as the position of thevending machine, the kind (for example, title or content) of dataexecuted, date and time when the data is executed, the number of timesthe data is executed, the number of persons passing by the vendingmachine, and the number of persons who view the data executed.

The data analyzing step analyzes the collected and classified resultsunder the conditions stored in the main server to find the mosteffective way to utilize the vending machines on the basis of date andtime, the kind of data, and the installation position of the vendingmachine. The conditions stored in the main server are set by eachvending machine operator or each data provider, and include data relatedto the position of a vending machine, that is, a shopping mall area, anoffice area, a residential area, a school area, a public office area,and a business area, data related to persons who pass by the vendingmachine, data related to a natural environment, such as date, time, andweather, and data related to a social environment, such as issues,economics, or the international situation.

The result arranging step reselects data to be executed on the basis ofthe analyzed data related to the effective utility of the vendingmachine according to the date and time, the kind of data, and theinstallation position of the vending machine, and controls the mainserver to change the schedule.

The traffic calculating step counts the number of persons who pass byeach vending machine for each date and time, using the human detectionsensor, such as an optical sensor or a radio wave sensor.

The information recognition state checking step counts the number ofpersons who view data displayed on each vending machine for apredetermined time, using an image capturing device, such as a camera,and an image recognizing software that analyzes the image captured bythe image capturing device, thereby checking the degree of therecognition of the executed data.

Next, the method of acquiring knowledge information will be described.

The method of acquiring knowledge information includes a one-wayinformation acquiring method that enables information acquirers toacquire desired knowledge information from each vending machine, atwo-way information acquiring method that enables information acquirersto make a reservation (for example, a hotel, a restaurant, or a travel)or an order (for example, goods or books), and a method that enables aninformation provider to give a reward for the reading of knowledgeinformation to vending machine users. The method of acquiring knowledgeinformation is not a passive information acquiring method that passivelyacquires knowledge information executed, but an active informationacquiring method that enables an information acquirer to activelyacquire desired knowledge information.

The method of acquiring knowledge information includes: a menu displaystep of displaying a menu of the knowledge information to be provided toa display device provided in each vending machine; a knowledgeinformation selecting step of selecting or inputting required knowledgeinformation from the menu using a touch screen of the display device oran external input device provided in the vending machine; a locationchecking step of allowing the main server to check the position of theselected or input knowledge information; a payment request step ofrequesting payment for providing the checked knowledge information; apayment step of paying for articles or knowledge information byselecting at least one of cash payment, the reading of knowledgeinformation provided by the vending machine, and the use of pointssaved; a knowledge information displaying/outputting step of displayingor outputting the knowledge information paid for by money by at leastone of a method of displaying the knowledge information on the displaydevice of each vending machine, a method of providing the knowledgeinformation as a print out, and a method of transmitting the knowledgeinformation to a mobile communication apparatus of a person who acquiresthe knowledge information; a result data collecting step of allowing themain server to collect the result data of the displayed knowledgeinformation and data for the paid point in real time and at apredetermined time interval; a data classifying step of allowing themain server to classify the collected result data according to area,kind, date, time, the number of articles, and the number of hits; a dataanalyzing step of allowing the main server to analyze the classifieddata; and a result arranging step of allowing the main server todetermine whether to add or delete knowledge information data on thebasis of the analyzed data, and reflect the knowledge information.

The menu display step displays a menu, such as an icon-shaped menu or amenu capable of inputting a file name, that enables a user to select orsearch knowledge information to be provided to the display device ofeach vending machine including a monitor and a speaker. In the knowledgeinformation selecting step, in an initial screen of the display device,the menu can be selected by touching the touch screen or manuallyinputting a file name.

The knowledge information selecting step selects the menu by touchingthe touch screen, using an input device, such as a mouse or a keyboard,or manually inputting a file name using the touch screen or the inputdevice, thereby reading knowledge information.

The location checking step checks the location of the selected knowledgeinformation data. Specifically, the location checking step checks thelocation of the selected knowledge information data in the memories ofthe main server, the external server, each local server, and eachvending machine to issue appropriate commands.

The payment request step requests payment for the selected knowledgeinformation.

The payment step pays for goods or knowledge information by using cash,such as coins, paper money, a credit card, or a bus card, or usingpoints saved in a mobile communication apparatus, which are a substitutefor money. The following methods can be used to pay for goods orknowledge information: a method of inserting coins or paper money into aslot of each vending machine; a method of inserting the credit card orthe bus card into a magnetic or electronic card reader; a method ofpaying money for goods with points saved in the mobile communicationapparatus by displaying a mark corresponding to the saved points, suchas a bar code, on a liquid crystal display device of the mobilecommunication apparatus and controlling the mobile communication paymentunit to recognize the mark, or by wireless communication with the mobilecommunication service provider who manages the mobile communicationapparatus; and a method of giving a reward to a user who reads or viewsknowledge information, for example, a user who views a specific ad oranswers questionnaires.

Various methods can be used to save points in the mobile communicationapparatus. However, in the invention, points can be saved by using RFIDtags, bar codes, color codes, or numbers printed on the articles thatare purchased by consumers through the vending machine, or by answeringquestionnaires given by each vending machine or viewing advertisement.The reward for the answering of the questionnaires or the viewing of theadvertisement may be displayed as bar codes or color codes on thedisplay device of the vending machine. Therefore, the user mayphotograph the bar codes or the color codes using a camera of the mobilecommunication apparatus to store them, and use the bar codes or thecolor codes, if necessary. Alternatively, the codes may be decoded andthe decoded data may be transmitted to the mobile communication serviceprovider to save points. When numbers are displayed, the user may savethe points by inputting the numbers during a phone call on the mobilecommunication service provider. When the user has a mobile communicationapparatus with an RF recognizing function, the user can save points byreceiving signals transmitted from the mobile communication payment unitof the vending machine. That is, the points may be directly stored inthe mobile communication apparatus, or they may be stored as data in theserver of the mobile communication service provider.

The knowledge information displaying/outputting step displays andoutputs knowledge information that an information acquirer wants toacquire on the display device of the vending machine as an image and asound, or transmits data to the mobile communication apparatus of theinformation acquirer such that the information acquirer can read or viewthe data.

The result data collecting step, the data classifying step, the dataanalyzing step, and the result arranging step are similar to those inthe method of providing intangible knowledge information, and thus adetailed description thereof will be omitted. However, the result datacollecting step differs from that in the method of providing intangibleknowledge information in that the reward for the reading of knowledgeinformation and the save and use of points are added as new data. Theresult arranging step differs from that in the method of providingintangible knowledge information in that data for the saved or usedpoints is transmitted to the server of the mobile communication serviceprovider to update data.

In the invention, data and commands are transmitted and received betweenthe servers and between the vending machines by wire and wirelesscommunication, and received data, which is knowledge information that isnot stored in each vending machine, is executed by streaming, therebydisplaying a picture, audio, or a moving picture (which may not includeaudio). The executed data includes all of a picture file, an audio file,and a video file that will be displayed on the Internet (web). Forexample, the picture file has an extension, such as jpg, gif, bmp, eps,png, pict, tiff, or tga. The audio file has an extension, such as mp3,wma, ra, aif, au, vqf, ac3, or ogg. The video (moving picture) file hasan extension, such as avi, mpg, wmv, divx, rm, mov, mp3, mov, or asf.

Although the method of managing a vending machine, the method ofproviding intangible knowledge information, and the method of acquiringknowledge information have been described above, the invention is notlimited thereto. Combinations of the methods may be made.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS

As described above, according to the invention, it is possible to checkarticles and knowledge information that are frequently used in real timeand immediately apply the check result to the vending machines.Therefore, tangible or intangible rewards for the purchase of productsand the reading or viewing of knowledge information can be used toacquire knowledge information, which makes it possible to contribute toactivating the use of knowledge information. In addition, since it ispossible to check the actual number of persons who view knowledgeinformation displayed, it is possible to obtain the result data close tothe actual data. Further, an information acquirer can acquire desiredinformation. That is, the information acquirer can acquire knowledgeinformation in various methods by viewing desired information displayedon a monitor of the vending machine and printing out the information, ortransmitting the information to his or her mobile communicationapparatus. Furthermore, since the management of vending machines and thedisplay and output of knowledge information are performed by one mainserver and a plurality of local servers, it is possible to dispersetraffic and thus reduce a server load. As a result, it is possible tosmoothly provide articles and knowledge information and effectivelymanage vending machines.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a system according tothe invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the outward appearance of a vendingmachine according to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a control block diagram illustrating the vending machine shownin

FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing a vendingmachine according to the invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing intangibleknowledge information according to the invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of acquiring intangibleknowledge information.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   100: Vending machine    -   110: Display device    -   120: Selection input unit    -   130: Payment unit    -   140: Discharge unit    -   150: External communication unit    -   160: Memory    -   170: Controller (CPU)    -   182: Human detection sensor    -   184: Image recognizing unit    -   200: Local server    -   300: Main server    -   400: Wire and wireless communication network    -   500: Mobile communication apparatus    -   600: External server    -   700: Mobile communication service provider server

BEST MODE

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a system according tothe invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the outward appearanceof a vending machine according to the invention. FIG. 3 is a controlblock diagram illustrating the vending machine shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing the vending machineaccording to the invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a methodof providing intangible knowledge information according to theinvention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of acquiringintangible knowledge information according to the invention.

The system according to the invention shown in FIG. 1 includes: aplurality of vending machines 100 that provide articles or knowledgeinformation; a plurality of local servers 200 that group the vendingmachines and manage the groups of the vending machines; a main server300 that controls the local servers; a wire and wireless communicationnetwork 400 that connects the vending machines, the local servers, andthe main server; a mobile communication apparatus 500 that can transmitvoice or data by wire or wirelessly; an external server 600 thatprovides external specific knowledge information, not data of thesystem; and a mobile communication service provider server 700 thatcontrols the mobile communication apparatus 500.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the vending machine 100 according to theinvention has a general structure that is provided with a power supply,has articles loaded therein, and can discharge the articles to theoutside. The vending machine 100 includes: a cooling and heating device102 that cools or heats the articles loaded therein; a display device110 that visually displays knowledge information or outputs it as asound, and has an input unit, such as a touch screen, provided thereinor an external input device added thereto; a selection input unit 120that selects articles or knowledge information; a payment unit 130 thatincludes a slot 132 into which a coin or paper money for articles isinserted, a reader 134 that can read magnetic cards or IC cards, and anoptical recognition unit that enables payment using the mobilecommunication apparatus 500 or a mobile communication payment unit 136that communicates with the external communication unit 150 to perform apayment process for the articles; a discharge unit 140 that dischargesarticles or printed outputs corresponding to knowledge information andincludes an outlet 142 for articles or a discharger 144 that dischargesknowledge information as an article; an external communication unit 150that is connected to the wire and wireless communication network; amemory device 160 storing instructions, signal, and data that are inputto or output from all the components of the vending machine 100 or theoutside; a human detection sensor 182 that includes an optical sensorusing an infrared ray or a laser beam, and a radio wave sensor and cancount the number of persons passing by the vending machine 100; an imagerecognizing unit 184 that can count the number of persons gathered infront of the vending machine 100 for a predetermined time; and acontroller (CPU) 170 that controls all the components of the vendingmachine 100.

In the embodiment of the invention having the above-mentioned structure,Apache Webservers are used as the main server 300 and the local servers200, Oracle databases are used as a database (DB) and a databasemanagement system (DBMS), general devices are used as a hard disk, aROM, a RAM, and an I/O interface, and a PDA (personal digital assistant)that is provided with a camera and can transmit/receive data using RFsignals is used as the mobile communication apparatus 500. In addition,a touch screen TFT LCD monitor is used as the display device 110 of thevending machine 100, an electrical type button is used as the selectioninput unit 120, a general bill validator that can identify coins orpaper money is used as the slot 132, an RF reader is used as the reader134, an RF reader is used as the mobile communication payment unit 136,a general laser printer is used as a discharger 144 that dischargesknowledge information as an article, a radio wave sensor is used as thehuman detection sensor 182, and a camera and a moving image processingtechnique are used as the image recognizing unit 184.

A method of managing a vending machine using the above-mentioned systemincludes: a data collecting step of allowing each local server 200 tocollect data stored in the memories 160 of the vending machines 100 thatare managed by the local server 200, the data including data for thepositions of the vending machines, article information data, such as thekind and number of articles loaded in or discharged from the vendingmachines, and date and time when the articles are loaded in ordischarged from the vending machines, and knowledge information data,such as the kind of knowledge information items stored in or output fromthe vending machine, the number of hits of the knowledge information,and date and time when the knowledge information items are stored in oroutput from the vending machines (S110); a data transmitting step ofallowing the local server 200 to transmit the collected data to the mainserver 300 (S120); a data classifying step of allowing the main server300 to classify the received data according to area, kind, data, time,the number of articles, and the number of hits of knowledge information(S130); a data analyzing step of allowing the main server 300 to use theclassified data to analyze the utilization, the frequency of use, avariation in the frequency of use, and the moving average of theutilization of each kind of articles or knowledge information; thepreference of each kind of articles, a variation in the preference, andthe moving average of the preference in each vending machine; and theutilization, the frequency of use, a variation in the utilization, andthe moving average of the utilization of each kind of articles in eachvending machine, using math FIGS. 1 to 9 (S140); a rearrangementdetermining step of allowing the main server 300 to determine articlesor knowledge information to be added or removed, that is, articles orknowledge information to be rearranged, using the center of gravity, adetermining algorithm that uses a fuzzy function as a determiningfunction, and math FIGS. 12 to 16 (S150); a similar article andknowledge information determining step of allowing the main server 300to determine articles and knowledge information to be added and similararticles and knowledge information, using an index table and similarityrepresented by math figure 17 (S160); a rearrangement executing step ofallowing the main server 300 to add or delete data that the main server300 will execute, among the data to be added or deleted and to transmitdata including rearrangement commands to each of the local servers 200,and allowing each of the local servers 200 having received therearrangement commands to add or remove articles or knowledgeinformation according to the instructions from the main server 300(S170); and a data updating step of allowing the main server 300 and thelocal servers 200 to update data on the basis of the executed data(S180).

In addition, the rearrangement determining step (S150), the similararticle and knowledge information determining step (S160), and therearranging step (S170) including the rearrangement of data and thetransmission of the rearrangement commands by the main server mayfurther include a vending machine adding or removing step of adding orremoving vending machines in a specific area.

Next, a method of providing intangible knowledge information will bedescribed.

The method includes: a basic data collecting step of allowing the mainserver 300 to collect knowledge information data scheduled to beexecuted, such as commercial or public service ads, weather information,product information, and official announcement of a village or a localcommunity in which the vending machines are installed, among intangibleknowledge information items stored in the memories of the main server300, the external server 600, each local server 200, and each vendingmachine 100 (S210); a scheduling step of allowing the main server 300 toschedule the basic data and to allocate the kinds of data to be executedby each vending machine 100, the time when the vending machine 100executes the basic data, and the number of times the vending machine 100executes the basic data, according to the schedule (S220); a first dataor command transmitting step of allowing the main server 300 totransmit, to each local server 200, data for knowledge information thatis allocated to each of the vending machines 100 according to theschedule such that it is displayed on the display device 110 of each ofthe vending machines 100, among the data stored in the main sever,allowing the main server 300 to transmit, to each local server 200,commands to transmit data stored in the local server 200 to each vendingmachine 100, or allowing the main server 300 to transmit, to each localserver 200, commands to execute data stored in each vending machine 100,and a second command and data transmitting step of allowing each localserver 200 having received the data and commands to transmit, to thevending machines 100 that are managed by the local server 200, datareceived from the main server, data stored therein, or commands toexecute data stored in the vending machines 100 (S230); a data orcommand executing step of allowing each vending machine 100 havingreceived data or command in the second data and command transmittingstep to execute the received data or perform the received command onknowledge information data stored therein to output a sound or displayan image (S240); an information displaying step of allowing the displaydevice 110 of each vending machine 100 to visually display the knowledgeinformation or output it as a sound according to the received data orcommands (S250); a traffic calculating step of allowing each vendingmachine 100 to count the number of persons passing by the vendingmachine according to time and date, using the human detection sensor182, which is a radio wave sensor, that detects the human bodies (S252);a step of allowing each vending machine 100 to count the number ofpersons who view information displayed on the display device, using theimage recognizing unit 184 utilizing a camera and a moving imageprocessing technique (S254); a result data collecting step of allowingthe main server 300 to collect the result data of the displayedinformation in real time or at predetermined time intervals (S260); adata analyzing step of allowing the main server 300 to classify thecollected data, according to area, kind, date, time, the number ofarticles, and the number of hits, and allowing the main server 300 toanalyze the classified data to find the most effective way to utilizethe vending machines according to date and time, on the basis of datarelated to areas where the vending machines are positioned, data relatedthe number of persons who pass by the vending machines, data related tothe natural environment, and data related to a social environment(S270); and a result arranging step of allowing the main server 300 tochange the schedule according to the analyzed data, reselect data to beexecuted among the basic data according the changed schedule, andarrange the data (S280).

After the last step, the process returns to the data or commandexecuting step (S240) to provide knowledge information that is added oris not removed even when the schedule is changed.

Next, a method of acquiring intangible knowledge information will bedescribed.

The method includes: a menu display step of displaying, on the displaydevice 110, a menu (an icon-shaped menu or a menu capable of directlyinputting text) of the knowledge information to be provided to thedisplay device 110 including a TFT LCD monitor having a speaker and atouch screen added thereto (S310); a knowledge information selectingstep of selecting or inputting required knowledge information from themenu using the touch screen of the display device 110 or an externalinput device, such as a mouse or a keyboard provided in the selectioninput unit 120 of the vending machine (S320); a location checking stepof allowing the main server 300 to check the position of the selected orinput knowledge information data in the memories of the main server 300,the external server 600, the local servers 200, and the vending machines100 (S330); a payment request step of requesting payment for providingthe checked knowledge information (S340); a payment step of paying forgoods or knowledge information by at least one of the following methodsof inserting cash, such as coins or paper money, into the slot 132, or acredit card or a bus card into the reader 134, of paying money to a userwho reads or views knowledge information, for example, a user who viewsa specific ad or answers questionnaires, and of paying money for goodswith points saved in the mobile communication apparatus 500 bygenerating RF signals by communication between the mobile communicationservice provider server 700 and the mobile communication apparatus andmaking the mobile communication payment unit 136 recognize the RFsignals (S350); a knowledge information displaying/outputting step ofdisplaying or outputting knowledge information by at least one of amethod of displaying the knowledge information paid for by cash or thecredit card on the monitor of the display device 110 of each vendingmachine 100 or outputting it as a sound, a method of providing theknowledge information as a print out by discharging the print outthrough the discharger 144, and a method of transmitting the knowledgeinformation to the mobile communication apparatus 500 of a person whoacquires the knowledge information such that the knowledge informationis displayed on the mobile communication apparatus 500 (S360); a resultdata collecting step of allowing the main server 300 to collect theresult data of the displayed knowledge information and data for the paidpoint in real time and at a predetermined time interval (S370); a dataclassifying step of allowing the main server 300 to classify thecollected result data according to area, kind, date, time, the number ofarticles, and the number of hits, and of allowing the main server 300 toanalyze the number of hits of each knowledge information, the type ofpayment for goods, and the output type of knowledge information, on thebasis of the classified data, and to analyze knowledge information to beadded or deleted (S380); and a result arranging step of allowing themain server 300 to determine knowledge information data to be added ordeleted on the basis of the classified data, and reflect the knowledgeinformation (S390). After the last step, the process returns to the menudisplay step (S310) to acquire knowledge information that is added or isnot deleted in the result arranging step (S390).

Although an embodiment of the invention has been described above, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modificationsand changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe present invention.

Therefore, it should be understood that the above embodiments are notlimitative, but illustrative in all aspects. The scope of the presentinvention is defined by the appended claims rather than by thedescription preceding them, and therefore all changes and modificationsthat fall within metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of suchmetes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the claims.

1. A system of management, information providing and informationacquisition for vending machine based upon wire and wirelesscommunication, the system comprising: a plurality of vending machinesthat provide articles or knowledge information; a plurality of localservers that group the vending machines and manage the groups of thevending machines; a main server that controls the local servers; amobile communication apparatus that can transmit or receive voice ordata by wire or wirelessly; and a wire and wireless communicationnetwork that connects the vending machines, the local servers, the mainserver and the mobile communication apparatus.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein each of the vending machines includes: a display device thatvisually displays the knowledge information or outputs it as a sound,and has an input unit, such as a touch screen, provided therein or anexternal input device added thereto; a selection input unit that selectsthe articles or the knowledge information; a payment unit that includesa slot into which a coin or paper money for articles is inserted, areader that can read magnetic cards or IC cards, and an opticalrecognition unit that enables payment using the mobile communicationapparatus or a mobile communication payment unit that communicates withan external communication unit to perform a payment process; a dischargeunit that discharges the articles or a print out of the knowledgeinformation; an external communication unit that is connected to thewire and wireless communication network; a memory device storinginstructions, signals, and data that are input to or output from all thecomponents of the vending machine or the outside; and a controller (CPU)that controls all the components of the vending machine.
 3. The systemof claim 2, wherein the payment unit includes: a slot into which a coinor paper money for articles is inserted; a reader that can read magneticcards or IC cards; and an optical recognition unit that enables paymentusing the mobile communication apparatus or a mobile communicationpayment unit that communicates with the external communication unit toperform a payment process.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein the vendingmachine further includes: a human detection sensor that includes anoptical sensor using an infrared ray or a laser beam, or a radio wavesensor, and can count the number of persons passing by the vendingmachine; and an image recognizing unit that can count the number ofpersons gathered in front of the vending machine for a predeterminedtime.
 5. The system of claim 3, wherein the vending machine furtherincludes: a human detection sensor that includes an optical sensor usingan infrared ray or a laser beam, or a radio wave sensor, and can countthe number of persons passing by the vending machine; and an imagerecognizing unit that can count the number of persons gathered in frontof the vending machine for a predetermined time.
 6. The system of claim1, wherein RFID tags, bar codes, color codes, or printed matters havingnumbers printed thereon that can be recognized by the mobilecommunication apparatus are attached to the articles used in the vendingmachine.
 7. The system of claim 2, wherein RFID tags, bar codes, colorcodes, or printed matters having numbers printed thereon that can berecognized by the mobile communication apparatus are attached to thearticles used in the vending machine.
 8. The system of claim 3, whereinRFID tags, bar codes, color codes, or printed matters having numbersprinted thereon that can be recognized by the mobile communicationapparatus are attached to the articles used in the vending machine. 9.The system of claim 4, wherein RFID tags, bar codes, color codes, orprinted matters having numbers printed thereon that can be recognized bythe mobile communication apparatus are attached to the articles used inthe vending machine.
 10. The system of claim 5, wherein RFID tags, barcodes, color codes, or printed matters having numbers printed thereonthat can be recognized by the mobile communication apparatus areattached to the articles used in the vending machine.
 11. A method ofmanaging a vending machine using the system of claim 1, the methodcomprising: a data collecting step of allowing each local server tocollect data stored in the memories of the vending machines that aremanaged by the local server, the data including data for the positionsof the vending machines, article information data, such as the kind andnumber of articles loaded in or discharged from the vending machines,and date and time when the articles are loaded in or discharged from thevending machines, and knowledge information data, such as the kind ofknowledge information items stored in or output from the vendingmachines, the number of hits of the knowledge information, and date andtime when the knowledge information items are stored in or output fromthe vending machines; a data transmitting step of allowing the localserver to transmit the collected data to the main server; a dataclassifying step of allowing the main server to classify the receiveddata according to area, kind, date, time, the number of articles, andthe number of hits of knowledge information; a data analyzing step ofallowing the main server to analyze the classified data; a rearrangementdetermining step of allowing the main server to determine articles andknowledge information to be added or removed, that is, articles andknowledge information to be rearranged, on the basis of the analyzeddata, using a determining algorithm; a similar article and knowledgeinformation determining step of allowing the main server to determinearticles and knowledge information to be added and similar articles andknowledge information, using an index table; a rearrangement executingstep of allowing the main server to add or delete data that the mainserver will execute, among the data to be added or deleted, and arearrangement data transmitting step of allowing the main server totransmit data including rearrangement commands to each of the localservers; a rearranging step of allowing each of the local servers havingreceived the rearrangement data to add or remove articles or knowledgeinformation according to the commands from the main server; and a dataupdating step of allowing the main server and the local servers toupdate data on the basis of the executed data.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein, in the data analyzing step, the utilization of each kind ofarticle is calculated by math figure given below:“the utilization of Pi(%)={the number of uses of Pi÷Σ(the number of usesof Pn)}×100”, the frequency of use of each kind of article is calculatedby math figure given below:“the frequency of use of Pi(%)=(the number of uses of Pi at Tn÷the totalnumber of uses of Pi until Tn)×100”, a variation in the utilization ofeach kind of article is calculated by math figure given below:“variation in the utilization of Pi(%)={(the number of uses of Pitoday−the number of uses of Pi on the previous day)÷the total number ofuses of Pi per unit time}×100”, the moving average of the utilization ofeach kind of article is calculated by math figure given below:“the moving average of the utilization of Pi(%)={(the number of uses ofPi from N o′clock to M o′clock)−(Tn+m−Tn)}×100”, the preference of eachkind of article in each vending machine is calculated by math figuregiven below:“the preference of P(%)=[(the number of uses of Pn)÷{Σ(the number ofuses of Pn)+Σ(the number of uses of Rn)+Σ(the number of uses ofMn)+Σ(the number of uses of In)}]×100”, a variation in the preference ofeach kind of article in each vending machine is calculated by mathfigure given below:“variation in the preference of P(%)={(the preference of P today−?thepreference of P on the previous day)÷the total number of uses of P perunit time}×100”, the moving average of the preference of each kind ofarticle in each vending machine is calculated by math figure givenbelow:“the moving average of the preference of P(%)={(the preference of P fromN o′clock to M o′clock)÷(Tn+m−Tn)}×100”, the utilization of each vendingmachine is calculated by math figure given below:“the utilization of a vending machine ‘a’(%)=(the number of personsusing the vending machine ‘a’ per day÷the average number of personsusing the vending machines belonging to a group ‘A’)×100”, the frequencyof use of each vending machine is calculated by math figure given below:“the frequency of use of the vending machine ‘a’(%)=(the number ofpersons using the vending machine ‘a’ at Tn÷the total number of personsusing the vending machine ‘a’ until Tn)×100”, a variation in theutilization of each vending machine is calculated by math figure givenbelow:“variation in the utilization of the vending machine ‘a’={(the number ofpersons using the vending machine ‘a’ on a specific day−the number ofpersons using the vending machine ‘a’ the day before)÷the total numberof persons using the vending machine ‘a’ per unit time}×100”, and themoving average of the utilization of each vending machine is calculatedby math figure given below:“the moving average of the utilization of the vending machine‘a’(%)={(the number of persons using the vending machine ‘a’ from No′clock to M o′clock)÷(Tn+m−Tn)}×100”.
 13. The method of claim 11,wherein, in the rearrangement determining step, a determining algorithmusing a fuzzy function as a determining function is used, a trianglevariable used in a membership function is represented by math figuregiven below:A(x)=1 /{a(|x _(−b) |+a)}, a>0 a fuzzy rule is defined by math figuregiven below:If x₁ is A_(i1), x₂ is A_(i2), x₃ is A_(i3) then y is B_(i) a fuzzy rulenumber is calculated by math figure given below:R=U_(i=1) ^(n)XR_(i) an output function is obtained by math figure givenbelow:B^(o)=U_(i=1) ^(n)B_(i) ^(x) B_(i) ^(x) is calculated by math figuregiven below:B _(i) ^(x)(y)=w _(i)

B _(i)(y), and the results of math figures are calculated by the centerof gravity.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein, in the rearrangementdetermining step, a determining algorithm using a fuzzy function as adetermining function is used, a triangle variable used in a membershipfunction is represented by math figure given below:A(x)=1 /{a(|x _(−b) |+a)}, a>0 a fuzzy rule is defined by math figuregiven below:If x₁ is A_(i1), x₂ is A_(i2), x₃ is A_(i3) then y is B_(i) a fuzzy rulenumber is calculated by math figure given below:R=U_(i=1) ^(n)XR_(i) an output function is obtained by math figure givenbelow:B^(o)=U_(i=1) ^(n)B_(i) ^(x) B_(i) ^(x) is calculated by math figuregiven below:B _(i) ^(x)(y)=w _(i)

B _(i)(y), and the results of math figures are calculated by the centerof gravity.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein, in the similar articleand knowledge information determining step, the similarity is calculatedby math figure given below: $C_{a - b} = \sqrt{\begin{matrix}{( {x_{a\; 1} - x_{b\; 1}} )^{2} + ( {x_{a\; 2} - x_{b\; 2}} )^{2} +} \\{( {x_{a\; 3} - x_{b\; 3}} )^{2} + \ldots + ( {x_{{an}\;} - x_{bn}} )^{2}}\end{matrix}}$
 16. A method of providing intangible knowledgeinformation using the system of claim 1, the method comprising: a basicdata collecting step of allowing the main server to collect data forknowledge information that is scheduled to be executed and intangibleknowledge information stored in the memories of the main server, theexternal server, each local server, and each vending machine; ascheduling step of allowing the main server to schedule the basic dataand to allocate the kind of data to be executed by each vending machine,the time when the vending machine executes the basic data, and thenumber of times the vending machine executes the basic data, accordingto the schedule; a first data or command transmitting step of allowingthe main server to transmit, to each local server, data for knowledgeinformation that is allocated to each of the vending machines accordingto the schedule such that it is displayed on the display device of eachof the vending machines, among the data stored in the main sever,allowing the main server to transmit, to each local server, commands totransmit data stored in the local server to each vending machine, orallowing the main server to transmit, to each local server, commands toexecute data stored in each vending machine; a second command and datatransmitting step of allowing each local server having received the dataand commands to transmit, to the vending machines that are managed bythe local server, data received from the main server, data storedtherein, or commands to execute data stored in the vending machines; adata or command executing step of allowing each vending machine havingreceived data or command in the second data and command transmittingstep to execute the received data or perform the received command onknowledge information data stored therein to output a sound or displayan image; an information displaying/outputting step of allowing thedisplay device of each vending machine to visually display the knowledgeinformation or output it as a sound according to the received data orcommands; a result data collecting step of allowing the main server tocollect the result data of the displayed information in real time or atpredetermined time intervals; a data classifying step of allowing themain server to classify the collected result data, according to area,kind, date, time, the number of articles, and the number of hits; a dataanalyzing step of allowing the main server to analyze the classifieddata; and a result arranging step of allowing the main server to changethe schedule according to the analyzed data, reselect data to beexecuted among the basic data according the changed schedule, andarrange the data.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: afterthe information displaying/outputting step, a traffic calculating stepof allowing each vending machine to count the number of persons passingby the vending machine, using the human detection sensor; and aninformation recognition state checking step of allowing each vendingmachine to count the number of persons who view information displayed,using an image recognizing unit thereof.
 18. The method of claim 16,wherein, in the data analyzing step, the data includes data related toareas where the vending machines are positioned, data related the numberof persons who pass by the vending machines, data related to the naturalenvironment, and data related to a social environment, and the mainserver analyzes the classified data to find the most effective way toutilize the vending machines according to date and time, on the basis ofthe data.
 19. A method of acquiring intangible knowledge informationusing the system of claim 1, the method comprising: a menu display stepof displaying a menu of the knowledge information to be provided to adisplay device provided in each vending machine; a knowledge informationselecting step of selecting or inputting required knowledge informationfrom the menu using a touch screen of the display device or an externalinput device, such as a mouse or a keyboard provided in the vendingmachine; a location checking step of allowing the main server to checkthe position of the selected or input knowledge information data in thememories of the servers; a payment request step of requesting paymentfor providing the checked knowledge information; a payment step ofpaying for articles or knowledge information by selecting at least oneof cash payment, the reading of knowledge information provided by thevending machine, and the use of points saved; a knowledge informationdisplaying/outputting step of displaying or outputting the knowledgeinformation paid for by money by at least one of a method of displayingthe knowledge information on the display device of each vending machine,a method of providing the knowledge information as a print out, and amethod of transmitting the knowledge information to a mobilecommunication apparatus of a person who acquires the knowledgeinformation; a result data collecting step of allowing the main serverto collect the result data of the displayed knowledge information anddata for the paid point in real time and at a predetermined timeinterval; a data classifying step of allowing the main server toclassify the collected result data according to area, kind, date, time,the number of articles, and the number of hits; a data analyzing step ofallowing the main server to analyze the classified data; and a resultarranging step of allowing the main server to determine whether to addor delete knowledge information data on the basis of the analyzed data,and reflect the knowledge information.
 20. The method of claim 19,wherein, in the payment step, cash, such as coins or paper money, isinserted into a slot, and a credit card or a bus card is inserted into areader to pay for articles or knowledge information, a user pays forarticles by reading specific knowledge information or answeringquestionnaires provided by the vending machine, and points saved in themobile communication apparatus are used as a substitute for money, andthe vending machine recognizes a mark displayed on a screen of themobile communication apparatus or RF signals transmitted from the mobilecommunication apparatus to receive payment for articles or knowledgeinformation.
 21. The method of claim 19, wherein the data analyzing stepanalyzes the number of hits of each knowledge information, the type ofpayment for articles, and the output type of knowledge information, onthe basis of the data classified in the data classifying step, anddetermines knowledge information to be added or deleted.